Ana Leal, left, embraces Lone Star College student Sabrina Cuellar after she was evacuated and picked up by her mother, Maria Cuellar, right, from the campus following a shooting Tuesday in north Harris County.

Ana Leal, left, embraces Lone Star College student Sabrina Cuellar after she was evacuated and picked up by her mother, Maria Cuellar, right, from the campus following a shooting Tuesday in north Harris County.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

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Members of the Harris County sheriff's Crime Scene Unit gather evidence and take photos on the campus of Lone Star College, after a gunman fired multiple rounds Tuesday on campus.

Members of the Harris County sheriff's Crime Scene Unit gather evidence and take photos on the campus of Lone Star College, after a gunman fired multiple rounds Tuesday on campus.

Photo: Karen Warren, Staff

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Dr. Richard Carpenter, Lone Star College System chancellor, left, and Maj. Armando Tello, of the Harris County Sheriff's Department, address the public.

Dr. Richard Carpenter, Lone Star College System chancellor, left, and Maj. Armando Tello, of the Harris County Sheriff's Department, address the public.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

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School buses are allowed back on the Nimitz High School campus, which was on lockdown after a shooting at Lone Star College on Tuesday.

School buses are allowed back on the Nimitz High School campus, which was on lockdown after a shooting at Lone Star College on Tuesday.

Photo: James Nielsen, Staff

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Shooting shakes local college campus

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With memories painfully fresh and nerves still raw after the Connecticut elementary school massacre, the nation suddenly turned its attention to a community college campus in suburban Houston on Tuesday afternoon, fearful that another violent incident was shredding any lingering notion of safety in the classroom.

As it turned out, the gunfire that shattered the silence of a normal day of classes at Lone Star College's north Harris County location was sadly routine.

Two young men became involved in an argument that ended when one pulled a handgun. Minutes later, the other man and a school maintenance worker lay wounded while panicked students dove for cover amid fears of an unfolding homicidal spree.

Those fears quickly faded, but not before scores of police cars and emergency vehicles converged on the school in the 2700 block of W. W. Thorne shortly after noon. While paramedics tended the wounded, as well as a female student who needed attention for a medical event possibly related to the shooting, authorities began to search wooded areas adjacent to the campus looking for the gunman, who had run away.

Cars driving along neighboring streets were stopped and inspected in case the gunman was hiding inside, and dog teams scoured surrounding neighborhoods in a yard-to-yard search. Meanwhile, four nearby schools in the Aldine Independent School District were placed on lockdown as a precaution.

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Suspect shot himself

A little after 2 p.m., the search became moot when a man suspected in the shooting showed up at Northwest Medical Center. Authorities said he apparently shot himself in the hip accidentally while handling his weapon.

The campus later was reopened and declared safe so that students, faculty and college staff could retrieve their vehicles and personal items.

But the very notion of safety was again brought into question by how quickly a simple dispute could turn potentially deadly.

The memory of the gunshots heard by so many near the school's cafeteria and library remained long after echoes had dissipated, as did the images of floors stained by blood.

The reason for the argument between the men, as well as the precise sequence of events, was still the subject of investigation late Tuesday. Why the maintenance employee was shot was unclear.

Both men involved in the altercation were listed as "persons of interest." In a statement, the Harris County Sheriff's Department said one had a student ID and that both remain under armed guard at the hospitals where they are being treated.

Later Tuesday, officials identified the shooter as 22-year-old Carlton Berry. He was charged with aggravated assault.

Nephew wounded

A woman at a home in north Houston said one of the people wounded during the shooting was her nephew. The woman, who declined to identify herself, said he is taking a GED course at the college. She said it was a requirement for him to someday attend art school.

"He was just trying to better himself," the woman said. "It's a scary situation."

The woman declined further comment.

As authorities were still trying to piece together what had happened, three Houston-area lawmakers were holding a news conference to discuss their bipartisan measure to create local taxing districts to hire more police for school districts. The measure, authored by state Sens. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, and State Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Humble, would allow for local elections to create taxing districts to fund the hiring of trained law enforcement officers to protect schools.

The bill follows another filed last week aimed at increasing campus safety by allowing people with permits to carry concealed weapons on all college campuses. The proposal by state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, would ban any public university from prohibiting students, faculty or staff with a concealed handgun license to carry on campus, including classrooms. A similar measure failed in the last legislative session by two votes.

Many college administrators oppose the idea. They argue that the decision of whether to allow concealed handguns on their property should be determined campus-by-campus rather than by a statewide policy.

The Lone Star College System is the fastest-growing community college in Texas, with more than 75,000 students and six campuses. Its North Harris campus serves roughly 19,000 students, diverse in age and ethnicity. The tree-filled campus spans 200 acres, with a dozen buildings.

The shooting is believed to be the first such incident on a system campus. The system has its own police department that patrols North Harris and the other campuses.

"You can't walk across campus usually without running into one of the officers. They're a constant presence," said John Luedemann, a spokesman for the North Harris campus.

Lone Star College, like all state colleges and universities in Texas, does not allow concealed handguns on campus. Of course, that did not stop at least one of the men involved in Tuesday's incident from having one anyway.

Thoughts of Newtown

After the shooting started, everyone ran, including Shaperia Harper. The 22-year-old studying nursing was talking on her cellphone at an outdoor fountain near the Winship building when she heard six or seven "really loud" gunshots. She had no time to investigate or think about where to go. She just ran.

Rohit Mistry, a 21-year-old studying criminal justice at Lone Star, had arrived at the library about 12:30. He was on the third floor, books open, when he noticed people running. A librarian asked all those present to move into a back room, he said. Several dozen crammed into the room, with some students crying and others calling their parents.

About 20 minutes later, the group was escorted from the building, along with other staff and students. It was not until Mistry reached the first floor that he saw blood on the floor.

A short distance from the school, Terin Tate was at lunch when she heard about the shooting and thought about one thing ­- her 18-month-old daughter, Olivia, who was at a day care facility on the campus.

Tate, 26, said she sped toward the campus, following a police car, only to have to go the final 2 miles on foot because of the campus lockdown. She saw SWAT teams on site, helicopters overhead and parents running along with her toward the day care. Her panic increased, the thoughts of the Newtown massacre bouncing in her head.

"I was hoping my daughter wasn't shot," Tate said. "With the Connecticut shootings so fresh, that's what every parent thinks of when you hear shooting."

Her daughter was fine. But Tate and other parents had to wait until the campus was reopened to take their children home.